2011 Debuts: Young-Adult and Middle Grade

For the penultimate entry in my series of debut spotlights, I'm targeting a younger demographic than that of my average reader. Still, some people (who aren't me) have kids, and in a world where Twilight is the industry standard for successfuly "young adult" fiction, they could use all the help they could get to find some quality recommendations. So without further adieu, here are a few books that might keep the kids entertained. Although if they are anything like I was at that age, a few books might only last a week.

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Young Adult

Title: The Girl of Fire & Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Green Willow / Harper Collins
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Synopsis: Princess Elisa is a disappointment to her people. Although she bears the Godstone in her navel, a sign that she has been chosen for an act of heroism, they see her as lazy and useless and fat.


On her sixteenth birthday, she is bartered off in royal marriage and shipped away to a kingdom in turmoil, where her much-older and extremely beautiful husband refuses to acknowledge her as his wife. Devastated, Elisa decides to take charge of her fate and learn what it means to bear the Godstone. As an invading army threatens to destroy her new home, and everyone at court maneuvers to take advantage of the young princess, Elisa becomes convinced that, not only is her own life in danger, the whole world needs saving. But how can a young girl who has never ridden horseback, never played the game of politics, and never attained the love of a man save the world? Elisa only knows she's going to try--so long as she doesn't have to give up pastries.

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If your kids haven't quite reached young adult status yet, I would suggest any of these middle grade adventures along with Kid vs. Squid or The Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout.

Middle Grade

Title: Kat, Incorrigible
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Publisher: Atheneum
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Kat Stephenson may be the despair of her social-climbing Step-Mama, but she was born to be a magical Guardian and protector of Society--if she can ever find true acceptance in the secret Order that expelled her own mother. She’s ready to turn the hidebound Order of the Guardians inside-out, whether the older members like it or not. And in a society where magic is the greatest scandal of all, Kat is determined to use all her powers to help her three older siblings--saintly Elissa, practicing-witch Angeline, and hopelessly foolish Charles--find their own true loves, even if she has to turn highwayman, battle wild magic, and confront real ghosts along the way!

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Title: The Mostly True Story of Jack
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: August 2, 2011
Synopsis: When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his crazy aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time. . . .


When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends-not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.


The Mostly True Story of Jack is a tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.

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Title: The Princess Curse
Author: Merrie Haskell
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: September 1, 2011
Synopsis: A retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", in which an herbalist's apprentice in 15th century Romania attempts to break a curse and instead discovers a door to the Underworld.

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Again, I'm sure I missed some excellent debut authors. Feel free to correct my oversights by leaving any additional recommendations in the comments.

The next entry in the series will look out past 2011, highlighting some debuts that aren't slated for this year but are no less anticipated.

You can the full index of highlighted 2011 debuts here.

2011 Debuts: Literary Crossovers and Short Fiction Collections

Today's debut preview shines a light on a few authors who may or may not be grateful for the attention. list. Literature and genre rarely play nice but when they do get together, they make one hell of a couple. Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman and China Mieville are only a few of the author who have made their careers off border straddling novels chock full or rich prose, challenging ideas, and original concepts. Will these authors make a name for themselves?

Literary Crossovers

Title: The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore
Author: Benjamin Hale
Publisher: Twelve
Release Date: February 2, 2011
Synopsis: Bruno Littlemore is quite unlike any chimpanzee in the world. Precocious, self-conscious and preternaturally gifted, young Bruno, born and raised in a habitat at the local zoo, falls under the care of a university primatologist named Lydia Littlemore. Learning of Bruno's ability to speak, Lydia takes Bruno into her home to oversee his education and nurture his passion for painting. But for all of his gifts, the chimpanzee has a rough time caging his more primal urges. His untimely outbursts ultimately cost Lydia her job, and send the unlikely pair on the road in what proves to be one of the most unforgettable journeys -- and most affecting love stories -- in recent literature. Like its protagonist, this novel is big, loud, abrasive, witty, perverse, earnest and amazingly accomplished. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore goes beyond satire by showing us not what it means, but what it feels like be human -- to love and lose, learn, aspire, grasp, and, in the end, to fail.

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Title: America Pacifica: A Novel
Author: Anna North
Publisher: Reagan Arthur
Release Date: May 18, 2011
Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Darcy lives on the island of America Pacifica--one of the last places on earth that is still habitable, after North America has succumbed to a second ice age. Education, food, and basic means of survival are the province of a chosen few, while the majority of the island residents must struggle to stay alive. The rich live in ""Manhattanville"" mansions made from the last pieces of wood and stone, while the poor cower in the shantytown slums of ""Hell City"" and ""Little Los Angeles,"" places built out of heaped up trash that is slowly crumbling into the sea. The island is ruled by a mysterious dictator named Tyson, whose regime is plagued by charges of corruption and conspiracy.

But to Darcy, America Pacifica is simply home--the only one she's ever known. In spite of their poverty she lives contentedly with her mother, who works as a pearl diver. It's only when her mother doesn't come home one night that Darcy begins to learn about her past as a former ""Mainlander,"" and her mother's role in the flight from frozen California to America Pacifica. Darcy embarks on a quest to find her mother, navigating the dark underbelly of the island, learning along the way the disturbing truth of Pacifica's early history, the far-reaching influence of its egomaniacal leader, and the possible plot to murder some of the island's first inhabitants--including her mother.

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Short Fiction

Next up is literarure's little sister, the short story. Like the hard stuff, short stories can be frustrating and amazing at the same time and it take a really skilled writer to put together a good collection. Early collections are more often than not compilations rather than true collections but there are those gems that manage a mix of distinct stories that also become more than a sum of their parts. Here are three very strong authors who I expect might provide just that.

Title: Engines of Desire: Tales of Love & Other Horrors
Author: Livia Llewellyn
Publisher: Lethe Press
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Synopsis: Death and pleasure. Freud's Todestrieb, his statement that ''libido has the task of making the destroying instinct innocuous, and it fulfils the task by diverting that instinct to a great extent outwards....The instinct is then called the destructive instinct, the instinct for mastery, or the will to power.'' Few authors have spun stories of Thanatos and Eros as skillfully and powerfully as Livia Llewellyn. In his introduction to this volume, Laird Barron writes ''Scant difference exists between exquisite pleasure and pain.'' An orphan girl with a mind for anthracite falls into the hands of a cult worshipping an entombed god. In the Pacific Northwest, evergreens lull prepubescent girls into their trunks to serve as wombs. A suburban housewife troubled by her present encounters the sixteen year-old girl she ached to touch in her dreams. These ten stories promise to indulge a reader's sensibilities, their fears and desires.

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Title: Bluegrass Symphony
Author: Lisa L. Hannett
Publisher: Ticonderoga Publications
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Synopsis: Ticonderoga Publications is more than well-pleased to announce a forthcoming collection of stories by acclaimed writer and master crafter of unsettling tales Lisa Hannett.
The collection is titled Bluegrass Symphony and scheduled for publication next year.
Since her first publication in 2009, Lisa Hannett’s stories have appeared in numerous anthologies including titles by Twelfth Planet Press and Ticonderoga Publication’s groundbreaking paranormal romance anthology, Scary Kisses. She has published stories in Clarkesworld Magazine, Fantasy Magazine and has tales forthcoming in Weird Tales and Steampunk Reloaded.
Bluegrass Symphony deals with cowboys and fallow fields, shapeshifters and rednecks, superstitions and realities in harsh prairie country — and a whole bunch of other things thrown in the mix.

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Title: How the World Became Quiet: Myths of the Past, Present, and Future
Author: Rachel Swirsky
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Synopsis: Rachel Swirsky's 1st short fiction collection. It's about time.

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Just a few titles between these two categories but I am always looking for more. As always, if you have any related suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Otherwise, come back tomorrow for my look at 2011's offerings for debut YA and Middlegrade fiction or check out the full index of 2011 here.

2011 Debuts: Urban Fantasy and Horror

After yesterday's foray into fantasy, it's time to move on to its inbred sex-starved cousin of the municipal variety. As a subgenre, Urban Fantasy doesn't look to be going anywhere any time soon. Not only do all the major players return,  they've also got a few new faces to contend with in the private investigator / witch / nurse/ vampire / nurse / waitress / werewolf / lover / guilty pleasure business.

Despite my proclivity for poking fun, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the occasional Urban Fantasy. There are a lot of Twilight knock-offs or Dresden Dopplegangers - you just need to figure out what's worth reading and what's pure drek. Hopefully these promising new series will be the start of something special...

Urban Fantasy

Title: Midnight Riot (US) / Rivers of London (UK)
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Synopsis: Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut.

But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

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Title: Hounded
Author: Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Synopsis: Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret.

Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.

Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil.

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Title: Nightshifted
Author: Cassie Alexander
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: January 1, 2012
Synopsis: Nursing school never prepared Edie Spence to work with vampires.

When Edie's heroin-addicted brother overdoses, she's given a choice at the County Emergency Room: she can watch him die or buy him an unconventional treatment by quitting her current job and transferring to Floor Y4. She agrees to transfer and finds herself in the bowels of the County hospital, working with vampire-exposed humans and were-creatures in their mortal phases. Caring for her new patients is stressful enough -- and when she rescues an abused little girl from a vampire prince, she realizes that saving her brother may have come at the cost of her immortal soul.

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Horror

I apologize for the short list of horror recommendations. In my defense, A) There aren't a lot of high profile horror novels, debuts or no. B) A lot of the newer writers are writing short fiction. C) Horror isn't my strong suit.

Title: Outpost
Author: Adam Baker
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: April 14, 2011
Synopsis: They took the job to escape the world
They didn't expect the world to end.

But the world beyond their frozen wasteland has gone to hell. Cities lie ravaged by a global pandemic. One by one TV channels die, replaced by silent wavebands.

The Rampart crew are marooned. They must survive the long Arctic winter, then make their way home alone. They battle starvation and hypothermia, unaware that the deadly contagion that has devastated the world is heading their way...

Kasker Rampart: a derelict refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean. A skeleton crew of fifteen fight boredom and despair as they wait for a relief ship to take them home.

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Title: The Mall
Author: SL Grey
Publisher: Corvus
Release Date: June 1, 2011
Synopsis: Dan works at a bookstore in a deadly dull shopping mall where nothing ever happens. He’s an angsty emo-kid who sells mid-list books to mid-list people for the minimum wage. He hates his job

Rhoda has dragged her babysitting charge to the mall so she can meet her dealer and score some coke. Now the kid’s run off, and she has two hours to find him. She hates her life.

Rhoda bullies Dan into helping her search, but as they explore the neon-lit corridors behind the mall, disturbing text messages lure them into the bowels of the building, where old mannequins are stored in grave-like piles and raw sewage drips off the ceiling. The only escape is down, and before long Dan and Rhoda are trapped in a service lift listening to head-splitting musak. Worst of all, the lift’s not stopping at the bottom floor.

Plummeting into the earth, Dan and Rhoda enter a sinister underworld that mirrors their worst fears. Forced to complete a series of twisted tasks to find their way out, they finally emerge into the brightly lit food court, sick with relief at the banal sight of people shopping and eating. But something feels different. Why are the shoppers all pumped full of silicone? Why are the shop assistants chained to their counters? And why is McDonald’s selling lumps of bleeding meat?

Just when they think they’ve made it back to the mall, they realise their nightmare has only just begun…

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Title: Southern Gods
Author: John Hornor Jacobs
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: August 1, 2011
Synopsis: Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is working as muscle when a Memphis DJ hires him to find Ramblin' John Hastur. The mysterious blues man's dark, driving music--broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio station--is said to make living men insane and dead men rise.

Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him, Ingram follows Hastur's trail into the strange, uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas, where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil.

But as Ingram closes in on Hastur and those who have crossed his path, he'll learn there are forces much more malevolent than the Devil and reckonings more painful than Hell . . .

In a masterful debut of Lovecraftian horror and Southern gothic menace, John Hornor Jacobs reveals the fragility of free will, the dangerous power of sacrifice, and the insidious strength of blood.

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Now, It's not the most comprehensive slate but as I said, I can always use some help in the Horror department. Recommendations of new authors are always welcome in the comments.

The same goes for Urban Fantasy - finding the diamond in that rough is much too dirty for my liking. But I'm always happy to take a look at something someone suggests is worth digging for.

Come back tomorrow for a rather respectable look at a few literary crossovers and those agonizingly brilliant things I refer to as short fiction collections.

If you are looking for more 2011 debuts, check out the full index (including science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk) here.

2011 Debuts: Fantasy and Steampunk

After yesterday's science based spotlight, it's time to shift the dial over to the magical side of the spectrum. Every book on this list contains one type of magic or another, even if it's under the guise of supernatural science. 

And as far as debuts go, none may be as critical as the first book in an epic fantasy series. Look for a few of these titles to generate a lot of discussion in 2011.

Fantasy

Title: God's War
Author: Kameron Hurley
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Synopsis: Nyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn t make any difference...

On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on--

There's not a chance in hell of ending it.

Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war--but at what price?

The world is about to find out.

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Title: The Desert of Souls
Author: Howard Andrew Jones
Publisher: Thomas Dunne
Release Date: February 15, 2011
Synopsis: In 8th century Baghdad, a stranger pleads with the vizier to safeguard the bejeweled tablet he carries, but he is murdered before he can explain. Charged with solving the puzzle, the scholar Dabir soon realizes that the tablet may unlock secrets hidden within the lost city of Ubar, the Atlantis of the sands. When the tablet is stolen from his care, Dabir and Captain Asim are sent after it, and into a life and death chase through the ancient Middle East.

Stopping the thieves—a cunning Greek spy and a fire wizard of the Magi—requires a desperate journey into the desert, but first Dabir and Asim must find the lost ruins of Ubar and contend with a mythic, sorcerous being that has traded wisdom for the souls of men since the dawn of time. But against all these hazards there is one more that may be too great even for Dabir to overcome..."

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Title: Wolfsangel
Author: M.D. Lachlan
Publisher: Pyr
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Synopsis: The Viking King Authun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately but Authun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy. A prophecy that tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the Gods. If Authun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory. But Authun discovers not one child, but twin baby boys. Ensuring that his faithful warriors, witness to what has happened, die during the raid Authun takes the children and their mother home, back to the witches who live on the troll wall. And he places his destiny in their hands. And so begins a stunning multi-volume fantasy epic that will take a werewolf from his beginnings as the heir to a brutal viking king, down through the ages. It is a journey that will see him hunt for his lost love through centuries and lives, and see the endless battle between the wolf, Odin and Loki - the eternal trickster - spill over into countless bloody conflicts from our history, and over into our lives. This is the myth of the werewolf as it has never been told before...

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Title: The Unremembered
Author: Peter Orullian
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Synopsis: The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song.


Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells….


The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey. Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

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Title: The Winds of Khalakovo
Author: Brad Beaulieu
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Synopsis: Among inhospitable and unforgiving seas stands Khalakovo, a mountainous archipelago of seven islands, its prominent eyrie stretching a thousand feet into the sky. Serviced by windships bearing goods and dignitaries, Khalakovo's eyrie stands at the crossroads of world trade. But all is not well in Khalakovo. Conflict has erupted between the ruling Landed, the indigenous Aramahn, and the fanatical Maharraht, and a wasting disease has grown rampant over the past decade. Now, Khalakovoable and unforgiving seas stands Khalakovo, a mountainous archipelago of seven islands, its prominent eyrie stretching a thousand feet into the sky. Serviced by windships bearing goods and dignitaries, Khalakovo's eyrie stands at the crossroads of world trade. But all is not well in Khalakovo. Conflict has erupted between the ruling Landed, the indigenous Aramahn, and the fanatical Maharraht, and a wasting disease has grown rampant over the past decade. Now, Khalakovo is to play host to the Nine Dukes, a meeting which will weigh heavily upon Khalakovo's future. When an elemental spirit attacks an incoming windship, murdering the Grand Duke and his retinue, Prince Nikandr, heir to the scepter of Khalakovo, is tasked with finding the child prodigy believed to be behind the summoning. However, Nikandr discovers that the boy is an autistic savant who may hold the key to lifting the blight that has been sweeping the islands. Can the Dukes, thirsty for revenge, be held at bay? Can Khalakovo be saved? The elusive answer drifts upon the Winds of Khalakovo...

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Title: Unwrapped Sky
Author: Rjurik Davidson
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: Late 2011
Synopsis: Caeli-Amur: an ancient city perched on white cliffs overlooking the sea; a city ruled by three Houses, fighting internecine wars; a city which harbours ancient technology and hidden mysteries. But things are changing in Caeli-Amur. Ancient minotaurs arrive for the traditional Festival of the Sun. The slightly built New-Men bring their technology from their homeland. Wastelanders stream into the city hideously changed by the chemical streams to the north. Strikes break out in the factory district. In a hideout beneath the city, a small group of seditionists debate ways to overthrow the Houses. How can they rouse the citizens of the city? Should they begin a campaign of terror? Is there a way to uncover the thaumaturgical knowledge that the Houses guard so jealously? As the Houses scramble to maintain their rule, it becomes clear that things will change forever in Caeli-Amur.

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Steampunk

Now I won't claim to be an expert at drawing the line between Fantasy and Steampunk but these titles have a few more brass fittings and  

Title: Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti
Author: Genevieve Valentine
Publisher: Prime
Release Date: April 25, 2011
Synopsis: The Mechanical Circus Tresaulti travels the landscape of a ruined country under the spectre of war, but when two of its performers become locked in a battle of wills, the circus's own past may be the biggest threat of all.

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Title: The Falling Machine
Author: Andrew P. Mayer
Publisher: Pyr
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Synopsis: In 1880 women aren’t allowed to vote, much less dress up in a costume and fight crime. But nineteen year-old socialite Sarah Stanton still dreams of becoming a hero. Her opportunity arrives in tragedy when Dennis Darby, the leader of the Society of Paragons—New York’s greatest team of gentlemen adventurers—is murdered right before her eyes. To uncover the truth behind the assassination, Sarah joins forces with Darby's greatest creation; the amazing mechanical man known as The Automaton. Together they begin to unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the Paragons that reveals the world of heroes and high-society is built on a crumbling foundation of greed and lies. But it is only when Sarah comes face to face with the megalomaniacal villain behind the murder that she will discover if she has the courage to sacrifice her life of privilege and truly become the hero she has always wanted to be.

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Title: Debris
Author: Joanne Anderton
Publisher: Angry Robot
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Synopsis: Debris introduces us to Tanyana, leader of a matter-manipulating team. Following an accident, she’s dismayed to be demoted to little more than a garbage collector, but it soon becomes obvious she’s been manipulated into that role by the faceless faction she calls the Puppet Men, to uncover a world-shattering secret.

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That's what I got, looks to be an interesting year for sure. Don't be afraid to note any debuts I'm missing in the comments.

Tomorrow - Urban Fantasy and Horror...

The full index of 2011 debuts can be found here.

2011 Debuts: Science Fiction

From self-hating cyborgs and cyberpunk space opera to post-apocalyptic Petrovitches and unexplained alien objects, the 2011 publishing slate is littered with offerings from some of the genre's brightest new talent. Here are some science fiction debuts to watch out for.

Science Fiction

Title: Up Against It
Author: M.J. Locke
Publisher: Tor

Release Date: March 1, 2011
Synopsis: In M. J. Locke’s absorbing debut novel, rogue artificial intelligence and a lethal resource crisis threaten the asteroid colony Phoecea—while, meanwhile, an interplanetary crimesyndicate appears to be pulling the strings. Locke’s background as a resource management specialist in the energy industry gives particular depth to the portrayal of Jane, the bureaucrat-engineer in charge of keeping the plumbing running on her island of humanity in unforgiving space.

In short order, Jane discovers that her colony’s water crisis may have been engineered by the Martian mafia, as a means of executing a coup and turning Phocaea into a client-state. And if that wasn’t bad enough, an AI that spawned during the industrial emergency has slipped through the distracted safeguards and gone rogue…and there’s a giant x-factor in the form of the transhumanist Viridian cult that lives in Phocaea’s bowels. There’s never enough SF like this: accessible, fun to read, featuring both young and old characters who we like instantly and care about, plus a constant flow of fascinating invention. Among other things, Up Against It is a “workplace drama,” full of the fascination of watching competent people do their extremely interesting jobs, with lives at stake.

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Title: Equations of Life
Author: Simon Morden
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Synopsis: Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor.

He survived the nuclear fallout in St. Petersburg and hid in the London Metrozone - the last city in England. He's lived this long because he's a man of rules and logic.

For example, getting involved = a bad idea.

But when he stumbles into a kidnapping in progress, he acts without even thinking. Before he can stop himself, he's saved the daughter of the most dangerous man in London.

And clearly saving the girl = getting involved.

Now, the equation of Petrovitch's life is looking increasingly complex.

Russian mobsters + Yakuza + something called the New Machine Jihad = one dead Petrovitch.

But Petrovitch has a plan - he always has a plan - he's just not sure it's a good one. "

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Title: Soft Apocalypse
Author: Will McIntosh
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Synopsis: It’s at a speed-dating service that Jasper realizes he’s living through the apocalypse. He’s not interested in dating the woman who convinces him of this, because she’s in a wheelchair–a victim of Polio-X–and he feels guilty about that. In fact he struggles with the whole notion of looking for love while corpses pile up in the back alleys of Savannah. Maybe finding true love isn’t even possible when Dada terrorists prowl the streets planting bombs in dogs, and voracious strains of bamboo choke the countryside, driving ever more people into the cities. And watch out for dozens of home-cooked viruses, including a brand new one: Doctor Happy. It doesn’t kill you, it just leaves you on a permanent LSD trip.

When the country finally collapses under the weight of a thousand cuts, Jasper flees his home town of Savannah with a tribe of friends. It’s here that he encounters Phoebe, an old girlfriend, and wonders if she might be the one. Both suspect they’re incapable of love after all the things they’ve seen and done. Close to starvation, an opportunity arises–a community that offers food and safety. If they’ll infect themselves with the Doctor Happy virus first.

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Title: The Quantum Thief
Author: Hannu Rajaniemi
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Synopsis: Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy - from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to steal their thoughts, to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of the Moving Cities of Mars. Except that Jean made one mistake. Now he is condemned to play endless variations of a game-theoretic riddle in the vast virtual jail of the Axelrod Archons - the Dilemma Prison - against countless copies of himself. Jean's routine of death, defection and cooperation is upset by the arrival of Mieli and her spidership, Perhonen. She offers him a chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self - in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed ...

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Title: Leviathan Wakes
Author: Ty Franck (with Daniel Abraham as James S. A. Corey)
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: June 15, 2011
Synopsis: Welcome to the future. Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer, Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

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Title: Heaven's Shadow
Author: David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: July 5, 2011
Synopsis: "Heaven's Shadow" begins with the discovery of an object of unknown origin headed toward Earth. Speculation as to what it might be runs high, and leads to an international competition to be the first to land on it, to claim both the prestige and whatever other benefits there might be. Thus, two rival teams of astronauts begin a thrilling and dangerous race - but what they find when they reach their goal will turn out to be unlike anything they could have imagined ...What they have landed on is no asteroid but a spacecraft from a civilization that has travelled tens of thousands of years to reach earth. While the team try to work out what it is they are needed for, more sinister occurrences cause them to wonder if their involvement with this alien race will ead to anything but harm for humanity.

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Not Actual Cover Art

Title: Machine
Author: Jennifer Pelland
Publisher: Apex Books
Release Date: August 12, 2011
Synopsis: "When a fast-acting mutation of Alzheimer's threatens to destroy Celia Krajewski's brain, she has her memories copied and downloaded into a perfect mechanical recreation of her body so she can continue to live her life while her flesh body stays in stasis, waiting for the cure. But when she wakes up, she finds her wife has left her, unable to reconcile the thought of Celia being in two places at once. Celia turns her pain inward, mutilating herself so she can see her machine parts. She soon falls in with a group of "mechanicals" who illicitly modify their programming and appearance as they see fit. But losing her humanity is a dangerous game, legally, emotionally, and sexually, and it's a game that Celia is ill-equipped to play."

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Based on these books alone, it should be an interesting year for new sci-fi writers. Expect some more details as the release dates creep up. Keep in mind that I can't be aware of the books I'm not aware of, so please mention any debuts I may have missed in the comments.

Come back tomorrow for to see which authors are publishing their first fantasies.

The full index of 2011 debuts can be found here.

SciFi and Fantasy: The New Class (2011 Debuts)

It's January in the blogosphere and if you've been around long enough you know that means Anticipated Book Lists™. It's like watching the leaves changing in New England. A bunch of people show up, repeat a few cliches, and then return to their day jobs in no time. In our case, that means posting excerpts and non-confrontational reviews amidst the self promotion.

Regarding the lists themselves, I think there might be more lists than the number of different books that fill them. The Heroes. Embassytown. The Wise Man's Fear. The Crippled God. A perpetual slot reserved for A Dance With Dragons. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm not looking forward to them - there's no denying the anticipation surrounding these books. EVERYONE is talking about them. Which is why EVERYONE keeps talking about them.

But for me, repeating the hype in my own (much smaller) corner of the blogosphere doesn't feel like contributing much. And if that's my game, reposting cover art would at least save me some time. So instead, I've decided to focus on the books that no one is talking out, the authors that could use the most attention - the noobs of 2011.

So over the next week, the posts on Stomping on Yeti will be geared toward with a focus on a different subgenre each day. Let's just call it ...

Marrying a graphic designer has it's advantages.

Here's the schedule.

Monday: Science Fiction
Tuesday: Fantasy
Wednesday: Urban Fantasy & Horror
Thursday: Literary Crossover and Short Fiction
Friday: Young-Adult and Middle-Grade
Saturday: Looking further...
Sunday: Index / Release Calendar
Monday: Comments Section

Stay tuned...

A not-so-random observation for authors new and old...

If you haven't noticed, I've been skimping on the blog posts the past week and a half. It's a bad habit of mine, particularly when I'm working on some content-heavy posts...which will arrive next week.

In the mean time, here's a quick thought for some of the newer authors out there:

If you maintain a website to promote your published work (and thereby your writing career), it MAY be a good idea to make information about your work readily available, up-to-date, and easy to find.

Now I'm not saying you need to drown your blog in self-promotion. But no one ever complained about a sidebar link to an up-to-date bibliography page. That would be the natural place to look for information about things you wrote, would it not?

Especially if you have a book coming out. You know what books are right? Those things that people are willing to pay you good money for? The ones that are going to be read by more people than that short story you sold to a no-name magazine? The things that people will display proudly on their shelves and recommend to their friends? Yeah those things. The honest truth is - you can't buy a book you don't know about. You would be surprised how many new authors (and some older ones) simply don't volunteer accurate, up-to-date information about their work. It's inexcusable, particularly when you are at the stage in your career when you need to find new readers the most.

People Potential customers (and not just bloggers) will come to your website looking for information. And many of them aren't going to mine through your old blog posts or subscribe for new updates. Unfortunately, this is an age of immediate information and if your information isn't available immediately, you will get passed by.

If you haven't guessed these thoughts and my research are not entirely unrelated. Come back next week for a look at some new authors, several of which could use some help getting the word out about their new books.

Obligatory Hugo Eligibility Post

I didn't write anything, much less publish anything this year, please stop rubbing it my face.

Also, why does anyone bother to do this anyway? I thought the award process was just Mieville and Bacigalupi fighting to the death, irregardless of whether or not they have qualifying works or not.


I pledge my Hugo votes (if I have any, not really sure) to authors who do not shamelessly pimp their own work. I just need to find a handy list of authors who don't do this. If you are an author who doesn't do this, could you post something on your blog or website explaining this and making sure I know which works of yours are eligible so I can vote for them?

That is all. Thanks!

Covering Covers: The Dark Commands [US] - Richard K. Morgan

Cover Artist: Unknown.

Meh.

Joe Abercrombie Confirms Speculated 4 Book Deal!

Thanks to the Mad Hatter, I learned that Joe Abercrombie has finally announced the signing of 4 more books in his First Law universe, more humorously referred to as "The Song of the Sword of Time of the Fallen."

I'm glad somebody let him know, I've been talking about it for months now. While I was wrong about it being a quadrilogy, I was right about the quantity of books and the time frame. I guess this proves scrounging around on Amazon isn't completely worthless. Here's what Joe had to say to confirm my suspicions:

"Therefore stand amazed as I announce that I last year signed a contract with my doughty UK publisher, Gollancz, for four more books set in the world of The First Law. That’s right. FOUR MORE BOOKS. Twice two. Or more accurately, one plus three, since at the moment, those books are looking like they’ll be another semi-standalone in the style of Best Served Cold and The Heroes, followed by another trilogy, though obviously I reserve the right to be coy and change my mind, possibly while flouncing out of a meeting. It’s a lady’s privilege, don’t you know.


In terms of timescale things are still a little hazy. I’ve been writing at the rate of about a book every 18 months or so, so one might reasonably expect the first of these books to appear on shelves sometime around the summer 2012 sort of a mark, but obviously I reserve the right to be coy and completely miss a date even that vague. I’ve barely started writing it, so we shall see whether, now I am installed in my new abode, the words fly from my fingertips like lightning or … not. As for the books after, there’s no point in even being vague at this stage. If they do end up as a trilogy, I might well aim to draft the whole thing before publishing the first book, which would leave something of a gap between the standalone and the first of the trilogy, but would hopefully ensure that the books of the trilogy could come out no more than a year apart, possibly less, and that they would form a coherent and cohesive whole. Or as coherent and cohesive as I am capable of producing. We shall see. It’s a long way off. Far enough for me to safely pretend that it’ll never happen."

While summer 2012 is a long way off, it's hard not to be excited by the promise of 4 more books in Abercrombie's First Law universe. Joe didn't say anything about the content of either project but my money stills on the return of the Bloody Nine.

As I've said in the past, Abercrombie is the reigning king of blood-soaked fantasy. Or at least the prince-in-waiting with a pile of gold, a hidden dagger, and an eye on the throne. Abercrombie's next book, The Heroes, comes out later this month in the UK and February in the US.

Covering Covers - Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory

Browsing Amazon when I stumbled upon this, the cover for Daryl Gregory's next book.

What!? You don't know who Daryl Gregory is? Really?! I don't think I want you reading my blog...

Wait, wait, come back. And stop being so impressionistic. Will you stay if I tell you a story? Ahem...

Once upon a time, your very own YetiStomper wanted to learn to be an author. He would read books and think to himself - "surely I could write a better story than this." He even started a book blog to help him understand why some books worked and others didn't. One day, he read a novel by Daryl Gregory entitled Pandemonium. 

The YetiStomper closed the book and set it aside. He was quiet for a while. Then he furrowed his brow and set to work. He would create a mutant clone combining the DNA of Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and Stephen King. After five minutes of furious calculations, he deduced he didn't have any of the requisite genetic information, access to state of the art laboratory facilities, or the years of training in the biological or irate sciences. 

The next stop on his journey of despair was the side table next to his couch. There, he fondled the lamp long and hard enough to damage it irreversibly, both emotionally and physically. But no genie would appear. He had used his last wish to fix Twitter the one time it didn't work. Science had failed him. The magic was gone. He sighed. For he knew in his furry little albino heart that there was no f***ing way he could ever write a book that good. Ever.

And thus his soul was crushed.

And that my friends, is the story of how Daryl Gregory destroyed all my hope of ever becoming a writer.

Or I may be taking up space because I only know three things about Raising Stony Mayhall.

1. "It's definitely not a zombie novel. It may, however, be an anti-zombie-novel zombie novel." - Whatever that means...
2. I want to read it.
3. It's got a pretty cool cover.

Look for a real explanation when I have a synopsis or a better idea what is going on here. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and check out Pandemonium and The Devil's Alphabet, two of my favorite books of the past three years.

Raising Stony Mayhall will be published by Del Rey on June 28, 2011.

YetiStomper Picks for January

Happy New Year! Time to ring in a brand new year with some brand new books. Here is what I'm recommending for January.

Bloodshot - Cherie Priest

The Chesire Red Reports, Book 1 - Call it paranormal romance, call it urban fantasy. Whatever you call it, Cherie Priest hasn't written it before. Bloodshot is the first book in a planned series from Priest who is better known for her fantastic Clockwork Century Steampunk novels. Bloodshot stars Rayene Pendle, a vampire/thief who is tasked with finding some missing government files. Sounds straightforward right? I steer clear of most Urban Fantasy but their are just some authors who can make anything work. Priest is one of those authors. (January 25 from Spectra)

Harbinger of the Storm - Aliette de Bodard

Obsidian & Blood Trilogy, Book 2 - Only a few months after de Bodard's debut finally arrived in the US, she returns with the follow-up. Harbinger of the Storm will be out in early January in the UK and late January (maybe early Feb) in the US. Set in a 15th century Central America where the Aztecs reign, this is fantasy for anyone tired of bad medieval Europe rip-offs.  (January 25 from Angry Robot)

Brave New Worlds - John Joseph Adams

Short Fiction Anthology - Are there several John Joseph Adams(es)? It seems like he's got a new anthology coming every month. He continues his series of excellent hybrids with Brave New World, an compilation of dystopic science fiction. Like all of Adams's collections, Brave New Worlds is a combination of classic reprints from genre greats and original stories from some of the top new writing talent. Check out the full table of contents and some samples at the dedicated website. (January 25 from Night Shade Books)

Cowboy Angels - Paul McAuley

Stand Alone Novel - Pyr continues their Paul McAuley import business with Cowboy Angels. An America has discovered the ability to access alternate universes. With it, they infiltrate worlds with different histories, "fixing" other Americas and bringing them into an unified multiversal empire. But does Manifest Destiny extend across realities? It's a premise I can hardly describe but one I wish I had thought of first. Maybe in some version of reality, I did... (January 18 from Pyr)

Zoo City - Lauren Beukes

Stand Alone Novel - Speaking of authors I wish I could steal from, Beukes is back with her sophomore effort. I loved her debut novel, Moxyland, and with Zoo City, she proves it wasn't an accident. Beukes's (why do all authors' names end in s?) speculation has a depth to it that makes it feel real. The story moves naturally through the world rather than coming across as a shallow construct. In Zoo City, Beukes combines African spammers, the music industry, tabloid journalism, magic powers, guilt animals, murder mysteries, and just about anything you can think of. It's crazy and crazy good.  (December 28 from Angry Robot)

The Warlord's Legacy - Ari Marmell

Corvis Rebaine, Book 2 - Marmell continues his inventive fantasy series with The Warlord's Legacy. Corvis Rebaine quit the world domination game after the death of his family. Now he has to live with the sins of his past. Or try to anyway - they just won't seem to leave him alone. In terms of innovative protagonists, using The Dark Lord himself is about as anti-hero as you can get. Plus, there is a rather sexy exotic looking woman on the cover. Who doesn't want to know what she's up to? (January 25 from Spectra)

Among Others - Jo Walton

Stand Alone - I've heard nothing but good things about the latest novel from the World Fantasy Award winning Walton. Part coming of age fantasy, part love letter to the genre, Among Others is a book that should speak to the heart of any bibliophile. (January 18 from Tor)

Knight Errant - John Jackson Miller

Stand Alone Star Wars Novel, The Old Republic Era - If you've read the Knight of the Old Republic comic books (which wrapped up with Issue #50 last spring), you know that John Jackson Miller has the ability to recapture the magic of the original Star Wars trilogy. If you've seen the Prequel Trilogy, you know that's not as easy as it should be. Lucas and Co. are gearing up for the launch of the new MMORPG, The Old Republic, with a bevy of new titles intended to flesh out the state of galaxy a millennium before Luke faced his father. Miller will provide both a novel and comic series under the Knight Errant title. Knight Errant stars Kerra Holt, a young Jedi trying to find her place in a galaxy at war. The fact that Miller is writing both (a first for the Star Wars universe) suggests the faith that LucasBooks has in his abilities. (January 25 from Del Rey / LucasBooks)

The Lost Gate - Orson Scott Card

Mither Mages, Book 1 - Orson Scott Card returns to fantasy with The Lost Gate! Card writes young protagonists well so it will be interesting to see what he does with Danny North as he discovers his ability to open gateways into strange worlds. I haven't had the opportunity to read The Lost Gate yet but a few early reviews have been cautiously optimistic about Card's new series. (January 4 from Tor)

YetiStomper Pick Of The Month: Normally I would be all over a new Orson Scott Card book. However, after phoning in his last few books with converted movie scripts (Invasive Procedures) and video game tie-ins (Empire, Hidden Empire), The Last Gate doesn't have me quite as excited as I once would have been. Instead, my pick goes to Lauren Beukes's Zoo City. I was fortunate enough to read Zoo City after it came out in the UK last year and Beukes avoided the sophomore slump in spectacular fashion. Like Moxyland, Zoo City is a whirlwind of ideas that somehow works. Realistic but likable characters, deep and engaging setting, and a driving plot with an ending you won't see coming - Zoo City has it all. Beukes has cemented her place on my list of must-read authors.  

YetiStomper Debut Of The Month: Based on how much I enjoyed the original Knights of the Old Republic comic series, I can help but be excited for John Jackson Miller's return to the Star Wars universe with Knight Errant. Miller gets "Star Wars" in a way that few authors do and he has never had a problem capturing the mixture of adventure, humor, and action that made the Original Trilogy into the phenomena it is today. Miller does a great job of foreshadowing and weaves characters in and out of tight situations so I expect big things given an entire novel's worth of prose to work with. I wouldn't be surprised to see more novels from Miller in the future. 

YetiStomper Cover Of The Month: Another toughie. I like the stylistic approach of Brave New Worlds (although does anyone else see the innuendo?). I'm also strangely drawn to The Warlord's Legacy although I can probably guess why. But the real winners this month are Pyr's cover to Cowboy Angels (Sparth) and the UK cover (John Picacio?) to Zoo City. I really can't decide between the two. Tiebreak goes to my graphic designer/photographer wife, who picks Zoo City. I can't complain with that decision. It's unique, eye catching, and begs for a closer examination, like any good book cover should.

Anyway, as always, if you are interested in more details regarding any of the above books, just click on through the Amazon links. I'm more interested in telling you why I recommended them rather than simply what the books are about. Let me know if there is anything I may have missed in the comments. I'm guessing there is something I'm forgetting with only two books on the radar.

You can view previous installments of YetiStomper Picks here.

Thrown Clear

The past few days have been a rough one, with both my wife and myself getting sick. (New Year's Resolution - get a flu shot) So I intended to take it easy this morning, with no larger goal than to get through a few hundred pages of reading or fall asleep trying.

I was well on my way, plowing through the first several chapters of Joe Schreiber's Red Harvest, when I read this.

"Listen to me, Trace told him. I don't know who you are, but I am in possession of a very special set of skills. If you bring my sister back right now, unharmed, then I'll let you go. But if you don't, I promise you, I will track you down. I will find you. And I will make you pay."

Sound familiar?

In case you can't stream that, here is the quote from Liam Neeson's Taken (2008)

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

I don't know if this was intentional or not. (I have a hard time believing it's mere coincidence) but I don't know how this is an acceptable practice. Someone should have caught this. Can you imagine if Han saw the Death Star for the first time and said, "I think we're gonna need a bigger spaceship" ?

When I read this, my suspension of disbelief hit a wall doing 100+. It's through the windshield and smeared across the pavement. Things don't look good.

I was enjoying Red Harvest up until this point. I don't know if I will pick it up again.

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Update: I found the following quote from Schreiber in this interview with Suvudu.

"5) The character of Rojo Trace is based on Liam Neeson’s character from Taken, to the extent that I think I even ended up stealing some of his best lines for the book."

To which I reply - why?